Satellite Communications/Ground Systems Integration & Test Engineer

Peraton; United States; On-site; USD 80,000 - 128,000; Full time

Job summary

Peraton is seeking a Satellite Communications / Ground Systems Integration & Test Engineer to support the SENSE contract at NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD. You will lead ground segment integration, test, and operations readiness for Space Relay capabilities, working with NASA and U.S. government customers.

As a mission lead, you will oversee requirements analysis, design, and testing across interfaces, ensuring reliability and mission success throughout cradle-to-grave lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field with 5+ years experience or MS with 3+ years of experience.
• Experience with satellite ground terminal architectures and operations.
• Proven experience in requirements management, test planning, and test procedures.

Responsibilities

• Inform SR customers about system capabilities and respond to inquiries.
• Support requirements reviews and ensure designs align with SR policies.
• Develop high-level requirements and operation concepts.
• Collaborate with customers to model realistic operations profiles.
• Create technical specs for cost estimates of new customers.
• Maintain interface control docs for SR ground terminals.
• Act as liaison between customer engineers and NASA RF experts.
• Contribute to integration/test plans and briefing messages.
• Lead transition to operations with procedures and scheduling tools.
• Participate in engineering reviews and disposition discrepancy reports.
• Maintain service accounting for missions against baselines.
• Present status in monthly meetings and technical exchanges.

Skills

Systems integration

Requirements analysis

KDP presentations

Security clearance

US citizenship

Ground terminal architectures

Education

Bachelor of Science in engineering/technical field

MS degree (3+ years experience)

Job description

Responsibilities

Peraton is seeking a Satellite Communications / Ground Systems Integration & Test Engineer to support the Space Exploration Networks Services and Evolution (SENSE) contract on-site at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in Greenbelt, MD.

As prime contractor on the Peraton SENSE contract, Peraton is responsible for the operation, maintenance, sustainment, and systems engineering of NASA's worldwide satellite communication networks. In this position, you will be an integral part of a world class team that ensures NASA spaceground communications are reliable and meet mission requirements.

As a Satellite Communications / Ground Systems Integration & Test Engineer you will have the opportunity to work with NASA's Space Relay (SR) fleet of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). The SR is a unique and highly sought-after capability that uses geostationary relay satellites to communicate with low earth orbiting satellites and other customer platforms. The SR is the primary communications capability for the Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and numerous other NASA, U.S. government and commercial missions. In this position, you will be working with Special Projects and Missions (SPM) U.S. Government customers. As a mission lead, you will support all phases of the mission life cycle: from initial exploratory compatibility discussions, through the technical aspects of designing, implementing, and testing ground and space interfaces, to procedural aspects for scheduling and controlling operational service. This cradle-to-grave approach for the mission lead function provides exposure to all aspects of the "customer commitment" function and enables growth both technically and programmatically. It is also rewarding to see tangible results from your work in the form of new missions or upgraded capabilities to existing missions.

Representative responsibilities in this role include the following aspects

• Apprise potential new SR customers of system capabilities. Research and respond to technical and operational inquiries to determine if the SR is a good candidate for the customer.
• Participate in requirement's, design, test and operations readiness reviews and provide guidance to ensure designs and operations concepts are consistent with SR support policies and constraints.
• Develop and maintain high-level requirements, documentation defining service requirements, mission support parameters, interface design concepts and initial operations concepts.
• Work with customers to develop realistic operations profiles that can be used as input for network loading and characterization models.
• Prepare technical specifications from which ground terminal engineers can prepare cost estimates for adding new customers to the SR ground terminal infrastructure.
• Develop and maintain interface control documentation to define interfaces between customer facilities and the SR ground terminals.
• Perform liaison function between customer spacecraft engineering personnel and NASA Radio Frequency (RF) engineers.
• Contribute to and monitor progress against plan for integration and test efforts. Contribute to test plans and write briefing messages for engineering tests as the customer's design progresses.
• Help customers transition to operations by leading the development of operations procedures and facilitating schedule and control system capabilities.
• Participate in engineering review boards to review and disposition discrepancy reports encountered during testing and operations support.
• Maintain service accounting records for assigned missions to determine if level of support is consistent with the requirements baselines.
• Present network status and respond to mission action items as part of monthly working group meetings and/or technical exchange meetings.

Qualifications

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Math, or other related technical field, and 5+ years of related technical experience; or an MS degree and 3+ years of experience.
• Systems integration experience and a working knowledge of satellite ground terminal architectures and associated operations
• Requirements analysis, requirements management, test planning, and test procedure development
• Design, development, integration, and test of ground communication systems and subsystems
• Developing and presenting Key Decision Point (KDP) presentations (e.g., System Requirements /Design Reviews)
• This position requires the candidate to already have an active SECRET security clearance and be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI level clearance with a Polygraph.
• Must be a US Citizen and show proof of citizenship.
• Must be able to maintain ability to access government worksite.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Active TS/SCI with a Polygraph
• Strong written and oral communications to present material to team and customer
• Proficient with the Microsoft Office suite including complex macro-driven Excel spreadsheets
• Basic IT system administration experience (simple web pages, SharePoint, etc.)
• COMSEC experience (annual key changes, etc.)

Peraton Overview

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can't be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.

Target Salary Range

$80,000 - $128,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual's experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

EEO

EEO: Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.